How to Hear God for Life-Changing Decisions

5 Moves That Shifted My Life, Family, and Career

How do you know when God is speaking? And more importantly… what do you do when He says something that costs you?

Over the last few decades, I’ve made five major decisions that completely changed the direction of my life, family, and calling. Every one of them came by hearing the voice of God—not always clearly, often with fear and trembling—but they have proven to be the best, most fruitful decisions of my life.

Whether you're facing a career change, geographic move, family transition, or a business pivot, my story will give you both courage and practical insight for making big decisions in partnership with God.

1. Hearing God Young: The 13-Year-Old Missionary Call

When I was just 13, a visiting missionary spoke at our church. Something sparked inside me. I turned to my mom and said, “God just spoke to me—I’m going to study agricultural science and become a missionary to help people both practically and spiritually.”

I completely forgot that moment. But years later, I made the exact decision I’d said as a teen. Sometimes, hearing God starts with a heart that’s open—even if you don’t fully realize it.

2. Faith in the Fire: Living Boldly at the Ranch

As a teenager in a rough boarding school environment, I made the choice to stand publicly for my faith. I put my Bible on the desk and played my Michael W. Smith cassettes loud enough for others to hear.

The backlash was brutal. I was questioned, mocked, and challenged. But something deeper was forged in that fire—hearing God for myself in the quiet. Scriptures would come alive. Songs would rise while I rode horses alone. It was real, personal, and sustaining.

3. The Big Move: Leaving New Zealand

Seventeen years of family, church leadership, business consulting, and favor in New Zealand came to a head in 2008. I had everything—career, community, financial stability. But something felt off.

Then God spoke clearly: “Get out of your country… to the land I will show you” (Genesis 12). My wife received confirmation from Jeremiah 3:14. We sold everything, packed 10 suitcases and four kids, and moved to Redding, California, for ministry school. Terrified? Absolutely. But we learned to trust God through every unknown.

4. The Prophetic Map: Moving to the East Coast

Thirteen years later, we were thriving in California. Heaven in Business was born and bearing fruit. Then our daughter casually said after church, “I think our season here has ended.”

That shook me. I journaled. I mapped. And I realized—every single one of our coaching clients lived on the East Coast. A year-old prophetic word suddenly made perfect sense: “You’ll have a red pin on the East Coast… Philadelphia, Boston, and New York.”

We asked, prayed, confirmed it with leadership… and drove 3,300 miles to Pennsylvania.

5. Pruned to Multiply: A Strategic Move to Nashville

Our time in rural Pennsylvania felt like wilderness. Nothing worked like before. But it was exactly the pruning we needed. God stripped away activity to produce lasting fruit.

Then, through a simple exercise at church, God said, “You’re more easily moved than you realize.” We began sensing Nashville. Everything aligned—relationships, beauty, location, prophetic alignment (Numbers 8:23–26). We connected with Don Finto, a spiritual patriarch of the region, and he blessed us into a new season of raising and releasing the next generation of Kingdom leaders.

Key Takeaways:

Hearing God is the most valuable skill you can develop. He leads not just for your benefit but for legacy, multiplication, and fruitfulness.

Faith-filled decisions usually come with fear—but obedience builds trust, and trust forges maturity.

Your next breakthrough may not be about you. It could be for your kids, your clients, or the people you’ll never meet unless you obey.

If you’re in the middle of a big decision, or you want to grow in hearing God for real-world situations, I want to encourage you…

Grow in your ability to hear God at work. Grab your copy of Listen Up! Hearing God at Work Here

And remember: Isaiah 43 is not just poetry. It’s a promise.

God is doing a new thing. Are you listening?

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